Why are some Malays more successful than those 'protected', Tawfik asks Wan Faysal
Gerak Movement founder Tawfik Ismail (left) and Bersatu Youth Chief Wan Ahmad Faysal Wan Ahmad Kamal
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Tawfik said such a statement by Wan Ahmad Faysal Wan Ahmad Kamal may show politicians are "deliberately creating dependency".
Tawfik said if the Malays are neo-feudal and not ready for full-blown democracy "it is because the current Malay political leaders have deliberately clouded the political landscape with race and religion with their paternalistic attitude."
He further told Sinar Daily that politicians have deliberately created a "dependency syndrome" where all the answers to life and the universe are what they say it is, regardless of practicality and commonsense".
In an interview with The Vibes, Wan Faysal, the national unity deputy minister was reported as saying that Malays reject Pakatan Harapan due to its "full-blown" liberal democratic nature.
He further said Malays need to be protected by those who share similar identity politics.
Wan Faysal also said PH liberalism was one of the reasons Bersatu left PH coalition in 2020.
However, Tawfik, one of the founding members of Gerak Independent, a movement for independent candidates for the coming general elections said Malay politicians are curbing the rise of Malays.
He said defining Malay thinking as tribal is trivialising the worth of the individual Malay to rise above his environment.
"Why are some Malays more successful than others?
"Those that choose the “liberal” and progressive path have gone higher and more successfully faced the challenge of the modern world than the “protected” Malay in the heartland," he said.
The Malays, though the spearhead of independence and nationalism is "ironically more repressed and suppressed by our own kind than by any previous colonial power".
The former Sungai Benut MP said this can be seen through legislation on religion, divided from its own compatriots and race-baiting and imposed party-sanctioned prejudices.
Citing the persistence over Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 amendment bill, better known as RUU355, but there is silence when simple human rights on child conversion and spouse abuse are raised.
